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- IL-09
As I write this, the AP has just called the IL-09 race for Daniel Biss. Here’s the current tally with 92% of the vote in:
The fact that Kat Abughazaleh, a 26 year-old who had never run for anything, was a serious challenger to Biss, and blew past AIPAC’s own Laura Fine is a tribute to a well-run campaign. She and her volunteers worked their asses off, her campaign did a bunch of original stuff that consultants would never recommend, and even though it wasn’t enough, it certainly was effective.
I hope we’ll be seeing more of Abughazeleh.
Those of us who want change in the Democratic Party have to realize that primary voters are often afraid of change. The Democratic Party is a rigidly hierarchical gerontocracy in ways because of, not in spite of, the primary-voting base. The anger and vitriol of a lot of the Blue MAGA types aimed at a 26 year-old newcomer who was, in their view, butting in line to get into the IL-09 seat was something to behold. It started when Abughazaleh had the temerity to challenge the 81 year-old incumbent, which many of these older, status-quo-worshipping Democrats considered an unforgivable sin. It continued as she did things like help local charities or run campaign events that were actually fun.
Moving on: Since I’m now a Colorado voter, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out this interesting result in the CO-01 nominating assembly (h/t to Scott H for telling me about it):
Melat Kiros, the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants and a former corporate attorney, received nearly twice as many votes as [15-term incumbent Diana] DeGette in a poll to allocate delegates to the 1st Congressional District assembly, which is scheduled to nominate candidates to Colorado’s primary ballot on March 27.
While both are on target to qualify for the June 30 primary in the Denver-based district, the drubbing marks a wake-up call for the 68-year-old DeGette, who has represented the state’s most reliably Democratic seat in Congress since 1997.
Kiros, who launched her campaign in July, got 63% of the vote to DeGette’s 35%, with 2% uncommitted, according to preliminary, unofficial results.
I learned (from reading the linked article above) that Colorado Democrats have assemblies where everyone with 30% or more of the vote advances to the primary. Candidates can also turn in petitions to get on the primary ballot, but the deadline for petitions is today, three days after the assembly. In other words, if she had a few less votes at the assembly, Rep DeGette would have had to scramble, hard, to get 1,500 signatures in 3 days.
Senator John Hickenlooper, who’s also facing primary challenges, decided to submit petitions and has qualified for the ballot, avoiding a potential embarrassment at an assembly. He’s got a serious challenger, State Sen Julie Gonzales from Denver.
I hope that voters yeet both DeGette and Hickenlooper to make room for some new blood. DeGette is by all accounts an uninvolved, passive back-bencher representing a deep blue district where anyone with a D after their name will almost certainly win. Hickenlooper, like a lot of his Democratic colleagues, misread the moment in early 2025, and he was among the Democrats most likely to vote for Trump’s cabinet appointees. This is while he was representing a state that voted for Harris by 11%.
Finally, if you haven’t read the note Abughazaleh’s boyfriend, Ben Collins, wrote about her, it’s worth a read because it’s sweet and raw. One of the refreshing things about new, outsider political blood is that these young candidates and their loved ones are earnest, almost painfully so. It’s refreshing to see that in this cynical world of ours.
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